Come in, pull up a chair, relax, sample the ale and read stories, trifles and anecdotes from Olden Times.

Thursday, 19 April 2012

The Suffragettes attack London

The have been a few attacks on the Houses of Parliament, this one was one of the less threatening. Helen Atkinson describes how the pre-war suffragettes took their cause to London.

It was decided to attack London. Annie Kenney, the mill girl, was chosen for the work. With two pounds in her pocket, she set off ‘to rouse London.’

When Parliament was next assembled Mrs. Pankhurst, Mrs. How-Martyn, who later founded the suffragette’s fellowship, Annie Kenney and a few other women went to the House of Commons to plead the cause. When they got there, to their dismay they learned that not the slightest consideration would be given to the women’s claims. But the occasion must not be wasted, the Lobby was full of M.P.s, so first one woman and then another jumped up on a settee, and began to speak. The police immediately seized them and hustled them out.

Next morning, ten offenders were charged, Annie Kenney and nine more. Sylvia Pankhurst was not arrested at the time, but because of a protest she made in court, she was also included. All received prison sentences. These women were the first Suffragettes to be imprisoned in London.